Weekend Recap: Halloween, Choo Choo, & Great Nana

Recapping the last 2 weekends, as that's just the best I can do these days!  I'm sure it will be even less frequent when # 2 arrives.  I still have some pictures from the official Halloween Day celebration last weekend.  Our neighborhood always has trick or treat on the evening of Halloween day, so Ben put on his bat costume for the final time.  And then he and Andy went to a total of 2 houses. :)

I just love my little bat.  

He got a hand full of suckers, which he loves these days, so he was a happy trick or treater. 

We ended up getting a jack-o-lantern pizza like we did last year and we had some friends over as we handed out candy.  It was nice and low-key.  In case I don't mention it in every post, I am tuckered out by Fridays!!  Candy and holding Baby Claire?  Sounds like a good night in Ben's book! 

I don't really remember what we did the Saturday after Halloween, but I do remember that we started listening to CHRISTMAS music at our house and it made me so happy!  It might be a little early for some, but we have a lot to celebrate this year, so why not get a jump start on the most wonderful time of the year?!  If I remember correctly, Benji was a wee bit on the crabby side last weekend.  Andy had a lot of school work to do, and Ben was having a huge meltdown that Andy couldn't play outside with him.  Apparently I'm not as athletically fun as daddy.  In an effort to give Andy some quiet time for studying, we decided to go visit Uncle Joe and Grandpa.  Ben made himself right at home at Uncle Joe's.  He had his snacks + a whole bag of bats/balls + Uncle Joe's guitars, so he thought he was pretty cool.

Next, we went to meet Grandpa for lunch.  Lunch of champions right here:

"No Packers game today."  He made sure everyone knew this.

I really blame Benji's crabbiness last weekend (and during the week) on that darn daylights savings time change.  I had no idea it could mess with him (and therefore US) so much!  He seems to be back on track now.  He is actually asking to go to bed at like 5:30 every night because it is so dark. :)  Thankfully he got a good night of sleep on Friday night because he had a BIG day on Saturday.  He went on his first (non-zoo) train ride!  He had been talking about this all week and every morning he would remind us of how many days were left.  Despite his 5:30 wake up every other morning this week, the one day he was getting picked up nice and early at 7:00am, he slept until 6:30.  Luckily he is pretty low-maintenance in the morning.  ;)  He waited eagerly for Nana and Papa John to pick him up.

"Want to bring "Mother Goose" on the train."

The train did not disappoint!  I was definitely sad that I didn't get to see how excited he was, but I also enjoyed a rare and much needed day all to myself!  (Andy had class.)

They headed out to Chicago to check out the Christmas display at Macy's.  Hmm…early Christmas celebrating must be in our blood.  (I swear I haven't forgotten about Thanksgiving!  Though it sure seems like I have…)

I would have loved to see him "ooo" and "aah" at all of the displays, but there will be more holiday fun over the next several weeks!  Including more lights and Santa!  The final verdict was that he liked Santa this year and he even told Santa that he wants a basketball for Christmas.  (Though I picture him panicking like in the Christmas Story movie when Ralphie says he wants a football instead of the Red Ryder gun.  At least I hope Benji doesn't want his 53rd basketball. ;)  Typically he tells me he wants a baby brother for Christmas, which I was totally planning on getting for him.)

Although I most definitely missed both of my boys yesterday, my free day was amazing!  I went to the gym, the mall, almost took a nap (thanks door to door insurance guy for freaking Rosco out just as I was about to drift off to sleep), and cleaned in total peace (+ Christmas music)!  I really can't remember the last time I was at home by myself for more than 10 minutes.  But, I was really ready for both Andy and Ben to come home.  Ben apparently wasn't and insisted on going to Nana and Papa John's instead of going home to see momma and daddy.  Thanks, buddy!  Andy and I went to pick him up and made a quick grocery stop on the way home.  My relaxed state of mind slowly withered away after Ben got hold of a mini-cart and nearly knocked every other person in the ankles.  And then to make sure I was truly back to reality, Ben attempted to one-handedly pass the eggs to the cashier and of course, the eggs went flying/smashing everywhere.

You can't be mad at him for trying to help though!  He felt so bad and was crying which made me sad too.  He recovered quickly with some stickers and then we got home we surprised him with his own mini Christmas tree.  He gets to put on an ornament for doing good things, mainly eating!  It's working like a charm thus far!

I am certain that the only reason he took 5 bites of pancakes today was because he got to hang 5 ornaments on his tree.  Yes, he had fries and a pancake for breakfast the morning.  Yes, he was more interested in coloring than eating.  

Ben was an absolute angel all day today though.  He did NOT sleep well last night, and I ended up spending most of the night in his bed because he woke up crying about every hour.  I'm attributing this to his choo choo/ Santa excitement.  You couldn't tell today though.  He did not get/need his "nee nee" for the entire hour at mass today and he was giving people the sign of peace like it was his job.  (Last week we heard "want to go home" about every 5 minutes.  ;) )  He happily ran errands with us, took a great nap while we cleaned the basement, and then played nicely by himself while I blowed leaves with the leaf blower for about an hour while Andy was studying.  He is good about 99% of the time, but he was extra good today.  This was much needed because it was a sad day at our house, my Nana (my mom's mom) passed away today.  Thankfully, she went peacefully but it is still sad.  Even though her memory was definitely failing her at the end, I am glad she was able to meet Ben, because she always wanted a great-grandbaby.  I'm also thankful we were able to see her one last time last week.  I have nothing but happy memories of my Nana while growing up.  We love you Nana!  Hope you're having fun up there! XOXO

Weekend Recap: Girls' Night, Family Nights

I'm already falling behind in my weekly weekend posts!  I wish there were more hours in the day.  At least it's that much closer to the next weekend?  I kicked off my weekend with a trip to Chicago to hangout with some of my best girlfriends.  It was long overdue and I needed it more than I even thought I did.  It took Sarah and I three hours to get there, but it was worth it.  We met up with our friend Jen and then enjoyed an amazing dinner at a quaint little restaurant.  Gotta love BYOB restaurants and sitting in a courtyard with strands of hanging lights.

Despite waking up once to worry about my babe, I had a great night's sleep.  We met up with our other friend, Sheila, for more girl talk in the morning before we head home.  Although I was initially super anxious to leave my boys home alone, it was good for everyone involved.  It was Andy's first time being alone with Ben over night and as expected, they didn't even notice I was gone. ;)  They went to the grocery store and to the farmer's market, but mostly they ate, climbed, and... spied on the neighbors.

Sarah and I both missed our babes (and hubbies), so we headed home before lunch.  Thankfully, the ride home was much shorter.  I know it was just over 24 hours since I had seen my boys, but it felt longer!  Pictures are great, but nothing beats hanging out with my little man (and hubby) in real life.  Since muggy hotness was/is in the forecast for the next several days, we decided it was time to hit the pool.  Baby Fish never misses an opportunity to practice his skills.

While he loves his floaty, he prefers being held (ALWAYS).  He was feeling pretty confident in his shark suit...probably looking for the pool thermometer.  

After all of our digits were effectively shriveled, it was time for a break.  Since Andy wasn't into sharing his Summer Shandy, Ben had to settle for the next most refreshing treat, a popsicle.  Unfortunately, it practically melted by the time he decided it wasn't toxic.

After a nap (for Ben), it was time for more fun.  One of Ben's girlfriends invited us over to grill out.  There were 3 babies there, but Ben was definitely the most mobile and busy of the bunch.  When we weren't chasing him and stopping him from eating chalk, we were trying to teach him the art of sharing.  I like to think it went well.  However, I will never understand the baby attraction to this purple phone.

Ben must have really got some solid playing in on Saturday, because he slept for 10 hours straight that night!!!!!!  While I got way ahead of myself by thinking that now that he is 10 months he will sleep for 10 hours, it was nice while it lasted.  Sunday was a fairly lazy day.  We took a trip to Costco and to the bike store.  We are attempting to start biking more, and Benji needed a helmet.

And last but not least, we had a graduation dinner for Auntie Anna's bf.  It was the perfect ending to a fairly relaxed weekend, and it definitely beat last week's Sunday evening.  For the record, the mouse was caught in the trap and the pest people patched up any possible little critter entrances.  Woohoo!

I think I am going to have to keep these posts shorter, because it takes me way too long to write one post.  I just don't want to miss anything!  My goal is to write more often and less lengthy posts.  Thanks for reading!